Groups & Societies

Almondsbury Charity

The origins of the Charity date can be traced back to 1322 when John
de Brokenborough established a ‘chantry’ or Trust consisting
of private land, the rents from which were to be used to support a priest
whose task was to sing Mass for the souls of the founder and his family
and all departed Christian souls. The original endowment amounted to 66s
8d (about £3–18p). This formed the original Church Lands Charity
as constituted in the Trust Deed of 1457. The income was to be used solely
for the maintenance and repair of the parish church in Almondsbury.

In 1892 a new Trust Deed was drawn up and the Church Lands Charity was
amalgamated with the charities established by Edward Tirrell (1683), Thomas
Jefferis ( 1717) and John Silcox (1741) whose income was to be used to
help the poor people of Almondsbury. At this time the capital value was
£400, half of which still consisted of land.

In the 1970s the Trustees obtained planning permission for houses to
be built on allotments which the Charity owned in Patchway. This coincided
with the government decision to widen the A38 and build the flyover near
the railway bridge. Consequently, the land was subject to a compulsory
purchase order and, after the deduction of legal expenses, the Charity
benefited by £150,000.

In the period beginning in the 1950s, following new housing developments,
the area changed from one based mainly on farming to one in which many
people found employment in the aircraft industry or travelled to work
in Bristol. Following the new building, and subsequent increase in population,
in 1953 Patchway and more recently Bradley Stoke became parishes in their
own right.

In 1976 a new trust deed which widened the possible beneficiaries was
agreed and the area of benefit was designated as the parish of Almondsbury
as it existed in 1881. In 1997 Almondsbury Church Lands Charity became
ALMONDSBURY CHARITY, the name it still retains.

Aims:

1. Relief in need, relief in sickness, advancement of education, charitable
organisations including in its objects the social welfare of the inhabitants
within the area of benefit;

2. maintenance and repair of the fabric of the churches within the area
of benefit. People helped must live within the Parish of Almondsbury (as
defined in 1881) i.e. Almondsbury, Easter Compton, most of Pilning, Patchway
and North Bradley Stoke.